Smart HTML electronic mail

Abstract

The smart Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) electronic mail system utilizes an intelligent decision algorithm to decide if an addressee is HTML capable or if plain text is required. The user specifies if certain e-mail domains, newsgroups, and individual e-mail addresses are HTML-capable or require plain text e-mail or the invention will query directory servers such as Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) servers as to the HTML capabilities of an e-mail client. The user composes an HTML e-mail document, indicating the addressees in the “to” field and selects the “send” command, the invention examines the document and, if the addressee is known to be HTML-capable, the document is transmitted as is. If the addressee is not known to be HTML-capable and if the document does not contain any HTML formatting that cannot be easily rendered in plain text, the invention automatically converts the document to plain text and transmits the document, thereby taking full advantage of the rich text formatting of HTML. If the document does contain any HTML features that are unique, the invention asks the user if he wants to send the document as is or have it converted over to plain text before sending, thereby providing a smart HTML e-mail system that automatically and intelligently converts and distributes the user's e-mail documents to both HTML-capable and plain text e-mail clients.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A process for sending Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) formatted electronic mail across a computer network, comprising the steps of: 
       creating an HTML document;  
       checking the designated recipients for HTML capability; and  
       sending said document to said designated recipients in accordance with said recipient's HTML capability.  
     
     
       2. The process of  claim 1 , wherein said checking step checks if all of said designated recipients are known to be HTML-capable and if all of said designated recipients are HTML-capable, sending said document in HTML format. 
     
     
       3. The process of  claim 1 , wherein said checking step checks if any of said designated recipients are known to be HTML-capable and if any of said designated recipients are known not to be HTML-capable, examining the contents of said document for any HTML formatting that is not easily converted to plain text, if none exist, then converting said document into plain text before sending said document. 
     
     
       4. The process of  claim 1 , wherein said checking step checks if any of said designated recipients are known to be HTML-capable and if any of said designated recipients are known not to be HTML-capable, examining the contents of said document for any HTML formatting that is not easily converted to plain text, if any exist, then performing the action that is preset in the user's preferences. 
     
     
       5. The process of  claim 4 , wherein said action is sending both an HTML formatted document and a plain text document to said designated recipients. 
     
     
       6. The process of  claim 4 , wherein said action is sending said document in HTML format to said designated recipients. 
     
     
       7. The process of  claim 4 , wherein said action is converting said document to plain text format and sending said document to said designated recipients. 
     
     
       8. The process of  claim 1 , wherein said checking step checks if each of said designated recipients are known to be HTML-capable and sending said document in HTML format to each of said designated recipients that are HTML-capable. 
     
     
       9. The process of  claim 1 , wherein said checking step checks if any of said designated recipients are known not to be HTML-capable, examining the contents of said document for any HTML formatting that is not easily converted to plain text, if none exist, then converting said document into plain text, sending said document to each of said designated recipients that are not HTML-capable. 
     
     
       10. The process of  claim 1 , wherein said checking step checks if any of said designated recipients are known not to be HTML-capable, examining the contents of said document for any HTML formatting that is not easily converted to plain text, if any exist, then performing the action that is preset in the user's preferences. 
     
     
       11. The process of  claim 10 , wherein said action is sending both an HTML formatted document and a plain text document to each of said designated recipients that are not HTML-capable. 
     
     
       12. The process of  claim 10 , wherein said action is sending said document in HTML format to each of said designated recipients that are not HTML-capable. 
     
     
       13. The process of  claim 10 , wherein said action is converting said document to plain text format and sending said document to each of said designated recipients that are not HTML-capable. 
     
     
       14. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
       querying a directory server across said computer network for the HTML capability of each of said designated recipients whose HTML capabilities are unknown.  
     
     
       15. The process of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of: 
       recording the HTML capabilities of recipients in an address book or recipient list.  
     
     
       16. An apparatus for sending Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) formatted electronic mail across a computer network, comprising: 
       means for creating an HTML document;  
       means for checking the designated recipients for HTML capability; and  
       means for sending said document to said designated recipients in accordance with said recipient's HTML capability.  
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein said checking means checks if all of said designated recipients are known to be HTML-capable and if all of said designated recipients are HTML-capable, sends said document in HTML format. 
     
     
       18. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein said checking step checks if any of said designated recipients are known to be HTML-capable and if any of said designated recipients are known not to be HTML-capable, examining the contents of said document for any HTML formatting that is not easily converted to plain text, if none exist, then converting said document into plain text before sending said document. 
     
     
       19. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein said checking means checks if any of said designated recipients are known to be HTML-capable and if any of said designated recipients are known not to be HTML-capable, examines the contents of said document for any HTML formatting that is not easily converted to plain text, if any exist, then performs the action that is preset in the user's preferences. 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein said action is sending both an HTML formatted document and a plain text document to said designated recipients. 
     
     
       21. The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein said action is sending said document in HTML format to said designated recipients. 
     
     
       22. The apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein said action is converting said document to plain text format and sending said document to said designated recipients. 
     
     
       23. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein said checking means checks if each of said designated recipients are known to be HTML-capable and sends said document in HTML format to each of said designated recipients that are HTML-capable. 
     
     
       24. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein said checking means checks if any of said designated recipients are known not to be HTML-capable, examines the contents of said document for any HTML formatting that is not easily converted to plain text, if none exist, then converts said document into plain text, sends said document to each of said designated recipients that are not HTML-capable. 
     
     
       25. The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein said checking means checks if any of said designated recipients are known not to be HTML-capable, examines the contents of said document for any HTML formatting that is not easily converted to plain text, if any exists, then performs the action that is preset in the user's preferences. 
     
     
       26. The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein said action is sending both an HTML formatted document and a plain text document to each of said designated recipients that are not HTML-capable. 
     
     
       27. The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein said action is sending said document in HTML format to each of said designated recipients that are not HTML-capable. 
     
     
       28. The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein said action is converting said document to plain text format and sending said document to each of said designated recipients that are not HTML-capable. 
     
     
       29. The apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising: 
       means for querying a directory server across said computer network for the HTML capability of each of said designated recipients whose HTML capabilities are unknown.  
     
     
       30. The apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising: 
       means for recording the HTML capabilities of recipients in an address book or recipient list.